The planet closest to your Ascendant, usually in the first, second, or third houses, is called the rising planet. I also call it the “first responder” planet, because it’s the planet that is first on deck to handle anything new that comes your way. What’s your first responder planet, and how does it operate in your life?
Author: April
Full Moon in Cancer: Can Hard Times Make Us Whole?
In the heart of a cold and brittle winter, Saturn’s wolves are howling in the distance. They howl warnings about the collapsing economy, the deteriorating climate, and the fearsome calamities that threaten us – joblessness, poverty, homelessness, starving, illness. Hard times can, in turn, harden us – but caring for each other – though it breaks our hearts – is what keeps us from turning to stone….
Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in Gemini: Beyond Words
This Full Moon in Gemini is a lunar eclipse, when the Moon slips into the earth’s shadow and is hidden from view. It reminds us that even in the age of constant information, constant contact, there are moments when the comforting Gemini gifts we take for granted can be taken away, when the world’s comforting voices diminish into unsettling silence….
Venus and Pluto: What you have left
“Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”
Preview: Astrology of the December 10 Lunar Eclipse in Gemini
At this lunar eclipse, we’re not done fighting, competing, struggling for territory – but with the Sun and Moon in good aspect to Saturn, we’re resigned to the idea that consolidating our empire will take time….
Eclipses in Action
Sometimes, change is a release; we let go of the bad lover, the fear of a good man, the dream of the perfect home, the unease over letting a pilot take control of our well-being. Sometimes it’s just the quiet acceptance, at last and if only for a moment, of normalcy – sinking comfortably into quiet rhythms, with a fond, final glance at the battlefield behind you.
Eclipse Guest Post at MoonCircles
I contributed a guest post on the November 24/25 Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius over at MoonCircles: Eclipses signal moments of transition, and often disorientation, when things are revealed to be other than what they had seemed. This week’s Solar Eclipse falls in Sagittarius, the sign of higher education, sports, and beliefs. In the past two […]
Previewing the November 24 Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius: Abdicate
Sagittarius is a sign that loves to gamble, but it’s also the sign of kings; and since this is the Sabian degree of toppling reigning monarchs and taking their territory, this eclipse may speak of the freedom (Uranus) that can come from relinquishing your own empire.
New Moon in Scorpio: The Banquet
The Scorpio season teaches us that life, like a temperamental lover, sometimes likes to test our commitment by showing us its ugly side. It’s easy to love life when it is kind to us, when it makes sense and makes us feel good. But can we love it when it is harsh and disappointing and determined to break our hearts? Scorpio answers, “Yes.”
Third House Things: Moving On
What I miss is the way he moved the air around, and no one’s found a way to hold onto that once the spirit’s own automobile has moved on to that great demolition yard in the sky. But I do owe a great deal to him for any wit I possess, because I honed it against his blade. And I do, of course, still have my trusty old car – the one I bought on his 31st birthday – and in a funny way it makes me think of him, getting in that car and driving, moving the air around….